MASSACHUSETTS -- A man unnecessarily caused a skunk to suffer by leaving it to die in a box trap in his yard for a week, authorities are alleging.
Lionel J. Gaumond, 62, of 37 Beech St., will be arraigned on a charge of animal cruelty Oct. 9 in Dudley District Court. A magistrate found probable cause yesterday. Mr. Gaumond was not arrested.
Environmental Police Officer Mark Brighenti responded to a complaint about a skunk trapped in Mr. Gaumond’s yard July 17, according to a report by Officer Christine Allenberg of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Officer Brighenti said the skunk must have died slowly and painfully in the trap, the report said.
Mr. Gaumond’s neighbor told police he discovered the skunk July 12, when it was alive in the box trap. The neighbor said he mentioned the skunk to Mr. Gaumond and was ignored, the report said.
On July 17, the neighbor contacted Animal Control Officer Kathleen Shields, who referred him to a wildlife removal service. Environmental police removed the trap and dead skunk, the report said.
On Aug. 10, Officer Allenberg said, he went to Mr. Gaumond’s house, but was met by his girlfriend, Tammy Tokarz, in their driveway.
The girlfriend allegedly said she felt bad about what happened. She said she and Mr. Gaumond were having problems with woodchucks in their large vegetable garden. She said Mr. Gaumond planned to catch the woodchucks and relocate them. But when he instead caught the skunk, he did not want to get sprayed. He left it in the trap for about a week and “it finally died.”
The girlfriend said she spoke to a female police officer named Cindy and was told there was nothing police could do. She said the officer did not advise her how to remove the skunk from the trap, nor did the officer direct her to call a wildlife removal service.
Officer Allenberg spoke with Southbridge Police Officer Cindy Iwanski, who said she was on vacation from July 12 to July 23. The officer said she hadn’t spoken to anyone about a skunk. The computer log revealed that police had not received any calls from the couple, the report said.
On Aug. 16, Officer Allenberg returned to 37 Beech St., and Mr. Gaumond allegedly told her he thought leaving the skunk in the trap to die was his only option.
(Telegram - Sept 12, 2012)
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